EN: Good morning everyone and greetings from ARIZONA! We’ve decided to escape the cold and have been spending the past 2 weeks in America. It’s most defiantly much warmer that the weather we fled from in Germany, but it’s also quite a bit cooler than the last time we were here. We had planned to spend a few days in the desert und since I was freezing my butt off the last time we were here and was cursing myself for not owning a proper utility jacket, I decided to sew a very last minute one (8 days before we left!!). So without further ado, let me tell you all about my Closet Case Files Kelly Anorak!

EN: I own quite a number of Heather Lou’s patterns, but have yet to actually sew up any of them, I’m honestly not quite sure what my deal is…. I really like the fact that the patterns are very fashion forward and cater to the more advanced seamstress, which is why I will have to get my act together and make up a Charlie Caftan and a Kalle Dress when I get back home. As for Kelly, I bought the pattern when it came out about 2 years ago (!!!) and then swiftly sourced all the materials, red twill, bias binding, snaps etc and then I waited for the first reviews of the Jacket which fell into two categories: EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT or EVERYTHING WAS TERRIBLE. I was kind or irritated, that the jacket was unlined and after reading the interlined Jacket hack… I was left very confused and decided to scrap my plans and toss Kelly and all the materials into a corner, where it spend all this time collecting dust.

EN: Which brings us to this February, and my desperate need for a proper utility Jacket. Closet Case Files had released a lining pack for the Jacket, that I purchased and sent off to the copy shop and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and sew myself an Anorak! During last year’s Black Friday Sales, I bought myself some olive twill (I also got some of the tobacco colored one, but I have no idea what to make with it) at Blackbird Fabrics and while I was in Birmingham at the beginning of February, I made a pit stop at the “Liberty Man” at the Rag Market and bought myself 2 meters of Tana Lawn that I wanted to use as lining. The first thing I did was buy 2 fleece blankets at the 1€ shop, I cut out the lining pieces using both the blankets and the Tana Lawn. I then proceeded to quilt the blankets to the Tana Lawn by drawing diagonal lines (2 inches apart) using a Frixion pen (it comes out when you iron over it!) and then quilted everything together. Once I had done that with all the quilting pieces, I assembled the lining Jacked per the instructions.

En: Putting the shell together was quite simple, Closet Case Files had uploaded a new improved Photo Sew Along on their site, depicting all the difficult steps for both the lined and unlined Kelly Anorak. I used the tutorials to put the pockets together, as I was struggling with the written instructions. I also struggled attaching the hood to the jacket, and must have unpicked the pieces about 10 times. I also kept sewing the plackets together incorrectly, which probably had more to do with the fact that I was beginning to get really tired and kept confusing the pieces.

DE: I used gold Prym anorak snaps and attached them using my beloved Prym pliers, seriously, if you are about to attach snaps, do yourself the favor and get these pliers, they are a real game changer! I used a 60 cm zip from Stoff an Stil, I was seriously worried, that it wouldn’t be long enough, but as it turns out, it’s just right! The sleeves have the perfect length and I enjoyed hemming the anorak, all the pieces fit together perfectly, there was no “one side is longer than the other” or any other craziness. I left off the drawstring, mostly because I didn’t have a cord that matched the jacket… and I also really wanted to be done with the jacket… LOL!!!

EN: I’m really pleased with how my Kelly Anorak turned out and I am so glad that I took the time to properly line it (with that fleece blanket LOL!). So far I haven’t been cold while wearing it and it really is a garment I have been missing in my closet. For all of you contemplating making this jacket: DO IT! The sew along will hold your hand through all the tricky bits and trust me having a nice utility jacket is something you’ll wish you’d gotten eons ago. I’m pretty sure, that I will be digging out that red twill in autumn and will be making up another Kelly, because I defiantly need more than one Anorak in my closet!

Lovely jacket! I would never have thought to use a fleece blanket quilted to a lining fabric–totally should steal that idea someday when I feel the desire to make another coat/jacket. Can’t wait to see the red twill version!

Thanks so much for your post and inspiration! A waterproof Kelly Anorak is on my must-sew in next few weeks list before our third baby arrives. I’ve muslined and am ready to start cutting my real fabric this weekend. The timing of your post is brilliant!
I love your idea of using a fleece blanket for interlining. Is the blanket material “polar fleece”?
Your pictures of south west USA are brilliant too. Has brought back loads of memories of our wonderful time there in 2012.
Oh the places you will go with your Kelly Anorak!
Elizabeth Browne
New Zealand

Dearest Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for leaving such a wonderful comment on my blog, it really made my day! Yes, the fleece blanket is “polar fleece”, I do not know why they call it that…I am a real fan of it and use it for all my lighter weight jackets! (It’s also really cheap…hahahah!) Wishing you all the very best for baby number three!
xB
PS: I visited NZ with my parents 25 years ago and still have so many fond memories of it. Your message made me call my mom to dig out all our old family pictures that we haven’t looked at in years! THANK YOU!